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Not recommended (noisy; dirty; co-ed bathrooms)

I stayed six nights in a private room (shared bathroom facilities). It wasn't a fabulous experience.
The good:
1. The location is really convenient, right next to the coach station and a Coles on Mitchell Street.
2. Most staff were friendly and helpful. (So too were the resident cockroaches)
3. There's a tour desk with a good range of tours and knowledgeable staff (if you can catch their attention).
4. There are basins and bar fridges in the private rooms.
5. there's a little spa-like pool on the roof, and chairs to sit around with friends.
6. No alcohol is allowed inside.
The bad:
1. It's incredibly noisy. The central location means there's traffic and party noise at all hours, day and night. Don't expect relaxing sleep here.
2. Bad behaviour of other guests. It's a cheapo hostel, so one doesn't expect much. As a woman, being hassled by leery drunken males as one walked between one's room and the bathroom was annoying and unpleasant. However, ratbag drunks running up and down the corridors banging on random doors at 3am was beyond the pale -- not just disruptive, but quite intimidating too. As there are no staff on duty overnight, there's nobody to police the behaviour of guests. As many guests are out drinking till the Mitchell St pubs close, they get plastered and sometimes behave badly. So don't expect much.
3. Though the cleaner is diligent, the behaviour of...I stayed six nights in a private room (shared bathroom facilities). It wasn't a fabulous experience.

The good:1. The location is really convenient, right next to the coach station and a Coles on Mitchell Street. 2. Most staff were friendly and helpful. (So too were the resident cockroaches)3. There's a tour desk with a good range of tours and knowledgeable staff (if you can catch their attention).4. There are basins and bar fridges in the private rooms.5. there's a little spa-like pool on the roof, and chairs to sit around with friends.6. No alcohol is allowed inside.

The bad:1. It's incredibly noisy. The central location means there's traffic and party noise at all hours, day and night. Don't expect relaxing sleep here. 2. Bad behaviour of other guests. It's a cheapo hostel, so one doesn't expect much. As a woman, being hassled by leery drunken males as one walked between one's room and the bathroom was annoying and unpleasant. However, ratbag drunks running up and down the corridors banging on random doors at 3am was beyond the pale -- not just disruptive, but quite intimidating too. As there are no staff on duty overnight, there's nobody to police the behaviour of guests. As many guests are out drinking till the Mitchell St pubs close, they get plastered and sometimes behave badly. So don't expect much. 3. Though the cleaner is diligent, the behaviour of other guests can lead to dirty bathrooms. I really wished there'd been his/her facilities, rather than the co-ed ones on offer. [When I checked out and mentioned this, I was told there were women only showers upstairs, where the dorms were. Sadly this was too late for my stay]4. The co-ed toilets were sometimes fine, sometimes repulsive. One evening I found a beer bottle in one toilet bowl, vomit in another, two were too polluted to want to go near, but fortunately one was still OK. There were routinely unflushed toilets, puddles where guests had missed... And, note to guys: it's not a urinal; these toilets are co-ed, so please, please shut the cubicle door when relieving yourself!!!5.The co-ed, ground-floor shower room has three showers. One is for disabled guests: it's large, has a proper sliding door, a toilet, but no lock -- so there's no way to stop someone walking in on you. The other two just have white shower curtains, which is horrible when a woman is showering and drunken guys keep walking in and out of the shower room. The hostel should definitely put lockable...More

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Room Tip: No point asking for a quiet room downstairs as there aren't any. Those on the left (facing down the corridor away from reception) are next to a carpark & police station, but they're probably quieter than those on the right have coaches and garbage trucks rattling past, about 1metre from your pillow, all hours, and the sounds of drunken revellers at nearby pubs until around 2am.

Stayed: July 2012, traveled solo

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Ask Atheoretical about Chilli's Backpackers

2 Thank Atheoretical

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

The room was small, and extremely noisly. We were in front of the compressors of a big supermarket, and it was impossible to sleep.The toilets were in the middle of clean and dirty. The staff was not really friendly, and the guy who give us back the key diposit ( 30$ ) at night it can be describe in many ways but not friendly.Extremely expensive for the room we book.Nest time I would preffer to sleep with the dingoes, than in such a disgusting place

Stayed: August 2012, traveled as a couple

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Ask dQzar about Chilli's Backpackers

1 Thank dQzar

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

We stayed here only for a night and it was enough. The rooms are clean and so are the common toilets/bathrooms. The maintenance man suddenly came in to the room without any prior intimation; just a single knock which coordinated with his entrance and I was sitting there half naked, seems he came to fix the latch!! That being said, it was pricey, expensive, but I guess all places in Darwin are expensive.

Room Tip: The rooms are all similar

Stayed: July 2012, traveled as a couple

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Ask hyacinthKannur about Chilli's Backpackers

Thank hyacinthKannur

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

As a pair of 'oldies', we were not the typical clientele for a backpackers. Except for one other couple, all others staying at Chilli's were in their 20's or teens. We stayed for a week in one of the double rooms. It was on the ground floor of a three level building, had a hand basin, cupboards and a TV. It was small and sparse but clean, neat and entirely adequate for us. The air conditioning unit was noisy, but then the whole precinct of Mitchell St is noisy. Part of the attraction of Chilli's is it's central location. The communal areas were kept clean by a team of cleaners who started in the morning and worked their way through all floors and vacated rooms each day. The communal kitchen area was excellent. A large, sprawling, open-sided, shady, pot-planted, comfortable all round spot to cook, eat, talk, rest or just watch the street below go by. The laundry was OK- only concern was the iron which had a frayed cord and badly broken cover, exposing the internal electrical wiring.The spas were good and access to their advertised swimming pool was via the 'youth shack' backpackers down the road. Staff were busy, efficient and occasionally grumpy. Overall, we would recommend this place and go back again, as a good all-rounder, value for money Place to stay.

Stayed: July 2012

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Ask GRUNDERWOOD about Chilli's Backpackers

Thank GRUNDERWOOD

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

I arrived in Darwin a few hours after my partner, who had left a message for me with Chilli's reception to say that he was eating somewhere nearby. Not only did they not pass on his message, they were adamant that he'd not yet checked in. This caused me a degree of stress (actually panic) until they let me use their phone to call him. Turned out they were just completely chaotic and had no idea what was going on.

Our double room was tiny and not very clean, with harsh strip lighting. Noise from bars over the road were very much audible from inside the room.

The toilets and showers were unisex, which is fine in itself, but the doors/curtains didn't feel secure so I didn't feel at all comfortable.

As with all hostels in Australia, it wasn't cheap either.

Strangely, their sister hostel Youth Shack, a few doors down the road, is a hundred times better.

Stayed: May 2012, traveled as a couple

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Ask RoseWanderer about Chilli's Backpackers

1 Thank RoseWanderer

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

This place was great, service and room are nice,Staff make you feel welcom and help you out with what ever you are needing help with, Room's are clean and not to small like some other hostels, all the guest's around seemed to be having fun,

Would stay again

Stayed: May 2012, traveled with friends

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Ask Skylee G about Chilli's Backpackers

2 Thank Skylee G

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.